The city of Pearland issued a boil water notice Wednesday evening after a major water plant failure.

The city of Pearland issued a boil water notice Wednesday evening after a major water plant failure.

Photo: @COPearland

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What does a boil order mean? It means that the water that comes out of the tap should not be used for drinking, brushing your teeth, cooking or washing fruits and vegetables.

What does a boil order mean?
It means that the water that comes out of the tap should not be used for drinking, brushing your teeth, cooking or washing fruits and vegetables.

Photo: Getty Images

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What if I drank the water already? There is nothing you can do about exposure you have already received. If you become ill, contact your health care provider.

What if I drank the water already?
There is nothing you can do about exposure you have already received. If you become ill, contact your health care provider.

Photo: Michael Heim / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm, Getty Images

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Is it safe to eat in restaurants under a boil order? The City of Pearland is responsible for checking area restaurants to confirm safe practices are being followed. Special procedures are required for restaurants to ensure that food preparation and handling is being done in a safe manner.

Can I shower or bathe in the water? It is safe to shower or bathe in the water as long as it is not consumed. Instruct children not to put the water in their mouths, and use bottled water or boiled water for bathing infants.

Can I shower or bathe in the water?
It is safe to shower or bathe in the water as long as it is not consumed. Instruct children not to put the water in their mouths, and use bottled water or boiled water for

How do I wash my dishes? Use bottled water or water that has been boiled for 3-5 minutes. Home dishwashers cannot be assured to completely kill organisms that may be in the water.

How do I wash my dishes?
Use bottled water or water that has been boiled for 3-5 minutes. Home dishwashers cannot be assured to completely kill organisms that may be in the water.

Photo: Donald Iain Smith/Getty Images, Getty Images

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Can I do laundry with the water? Yes, it is safe to wash clothes in the water. The major concern is consuming the water.

Can I do laundry with the water? Yes, it is safe to wash clothes in the water. The major concern is consuming the water.

Photo: Vsevolod Vlasenko/Getty Images, Getty Images

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How long should I boil my water for? The tap water should be brought to a rolling boil for 3-5 minutes before being used.

How long should I boil my water for?
The tap water should be brought to a rolling boil for 3-5 minutes before being used.

Photo: Getty Images

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Can I wash my hands with this water? It is not recommended to wash hands with the tap water under a boil water notice. If using tap water is the only option, it should be followed up with a hand sanitizer. Using extra precautions with hand washing ensures hands are clean for eating.

Can I wash my hands with this water?
It is not recommended to wash hands with the tap water under a boil water notice. If using tap water is the only option, it should be followed up with a hand sanitizer.

Can I drink the water? Only bottled water or water that has been boiled for 3-5 minutes should be consumed.

Can I drink the water?
Only bottled water or water that has been boiled for 3-5 minutes should be consumed.

Photo: Hero Images/Getty Images/Hero Images, Getty Images

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Galveston, Pearland wrestle with water woes after icy weather

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Galveston and Pearland were among several localities wrestling with water issues on Thursday following this week's icy weather, which paralyzed southeast Texas this week.

Galveston officials on Thursday night reported receiving an "unprecedented amount of water leaks due to frozen pipes" in the wake of temperatures that hovered in the 20s on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The City's utility billing office has received over 3,000 phone calls over the last day and a half and expect the number to continue to rise," officials said in a news release. "The City's municipal utilities crews have been working 16-hour shifts since Monday and will begin working around the clock as we begin to assist residents with shut offs."

Houston city officials reported receiving 997 calls on Wednesday about water leaks, valve shutoffs and hydrants, compared to 289 a week earlier.

The Trinity Bay Conservation District, which oversees the water supply for most of East Chambers County and part of West Jefferson County, issued a boil water advisory for the entire region due to low water pressure from busted pipes.

In Pearland, officials were trying to determine what caused two of the city's water treatment plans to malfunction, resulting in a boil-water advisory that was expected to extend into Friday morning. It was unclear if those problems were weather-related.

Galveston officials said leaks on the island had depleted the city's water supply, dropping reserve tanks to below 60 percent of capacity and requiring enactment of stage 4 of the city's drought contingency plan.

City crews were working to assist residents given the nature of the cold snap and the limited number of plumbers on the island. The city said it was prepared to "forgive any excess use due to the inclement weather" on customers' water bills.

Residents have been asked to conserve water until most freeze-related leaks are fixed, and will be subject to fines for non-essential uses of potable water.

"This is quickly becoming a water emergency and we hope that residents will heed the message and help us to conserve the water we do have in reserves," City Manager Brian Maxwell said in a written statement. "We are hoping to quickly resolve these issues and rescind the mandatory water rationing as soon as possible."

Further up Interstate 45, Pearland spokeswoman Sparkle Anderson said Thursday that officials continued investigating what went wrong with its water tanks and awaited test results that might reveal any contaminants. Residents affected include all those who live in Pearland neighborhoods west of State Highway 288.

Anderson said the city's public works department completed the required sample testing on the water late Wednesday night.

Pearland officials discovered a malfunction at its water production facility at 3100 Kirby around 6 p.m. Wednesday: The water pressure had fallen below what's required by state and federal law.

"Any time the water drops below a certain pressure level, there is the potential for contamination," Anderson said.

By 7:42 p.m., a notice went out informing residents that they needed to boil water before drinking it, using it to brush their teeth, or washing their face and hands. Anderson made clear that the boil-water notice was not meant to indicate that bacteria was present, but possible.

During the investigation, Anderson said, officials discovered that the root of the malfunction originated at Pearland's other water treatment facility, on FM 521. Officials said they believe equipment there malfunctioned some time late Wednesday afternoon — but that the system's alarm had failed to notify public works officials about the problem.

For multiple hours, the problem went undetected, and the treatment facility on Kirby was left to compensate for all of Pearland's water for longer than it's supposed to in a situation like this, Anderson said.

Anderson said it was unclear exactly how long the water pressure was lower than state and federal requirements and that this was part of the investigation — as well as why the FM 521 treatment facility's fail-safe alarm failed.

"The safety of our water is paramount to us, and we will do a full investigation at the completion of this incident to make sure we put in additional measures to prevent this from happening again," Anderson said.

In the meantime, Pearland businesses and residents struggled with the inconvenience of not having clean running water.

Eric Westerlage, a manager at BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, said his restaurant stopped running its soda equipment, which is connected to the city water system, and had outsourced for bottled water.

"It's a much slower day than we're used to," Westerlage said. "We have a boil water procedure that we follow and that's what we're doing. Honestly, the whole boil water [advisory] has affected this whole side of town. There's not a whole lot of people out and about right now."

Crystal Charles, an assistant manager at Josephine's Day Spa and Salon, said that some of their clients were doused with water from a spray bottle, in lieu of clean tap water. The owner of the spa told Charles to close early, losing at least a half-day's worth of business.

"We did have to call [our clients] and inform them what was going on and to reschedule them, due to the fact that we don't want them to come in and be using this type of water on their head," Charles said Thursday. "We're gonna hope for the best and try tomorrow."

Pearland resident Daniell Davis was forced to shuttle her three children — ages 18, 13 and 2 — to her mother-in-law's house in Stafford so they could shower and brush their teeth with clean water.

Since dishwasher temperatures were not hot enough to kill potential bacteria, she was in the process of washing all of her dishes by hand.

"Right now I'm about to boil water and try to wash some dishes — probably will take dishwashing three times as long," Davis said.

Davis was hopeful that the advisory would be lifted on Friday, in time for her kids to enjoy their weekend without having to travel elsewhere for clean water.

"That would definitely be an inconvenience for me. This inconvenience isn't so terrible."